Article handling machines are used in a wide range of industries to process articles, for instance in bottle industry, pharmaceutical industry or in food packaging industry. Maintenance operations of such machines require access to every part of the machines, even to the roof.
The roof is a critical part. Indeed, many elements which demand regular maintenance are only accessible from the roof.
For instance, bulky power devices, such as electrical cabinets, may be mounted on the roof, in order to minimize the occupied space on the floor, and to place the apparatus as near as possible to the machine and to let a free access to the interior of the machine by the sides.
Structural parts of the machine, such as wheel axis or cap feed rails may be fixed to the roof, and should hence be accessible for installation and maintenance purposes; whereby, operators mount and walk on the roof to achieve the necessary steps.
Such operations may be hazardous for operators. Indeed, the space on the roof is generally limited and, as a large portion is already occupied by machine parts, such as the electrical cabinet, operators do not have much room where to move and store their tools.
In order to bring an element of solution, handrails have been placed along roof edges of some machines to secure operators' movements on the roof.
However, the mere handrail is an incomplete solution. Indeed, even if the risk of falling is minimized, the room available for operators is still insufficient.
Moreover, such machines must be moved at least once, from their setting place to a client place, by common transportation means, involving to pass through public roads. As the machine may be bulky by itself, it is a conception matter not to increase the width of the machine and to keep its dimensions in a reasonable average.